Separation of tar acids and thiophenols



March 12, 1957 Filed 001.. 23, 1953 (GRAMS) THIOORESOL ABSORBED M. B. NEUWORTH 2,785,206

SEPARATION OF TAR ACIDS AND THIOPHEINOLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 EFFECT OF FLOW RATE ON THIOCRESOL ABSORPTION o- 2 4 a I 8 IO LIQUID HOURLY SPACE VELOCITY LO EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION ON THIOORESOL ABSORPTION FIG 3 WEIGHT PER CENT THIOCRESOL INVENTOR. MARTIN B; NEUWORTH United States Patent SEPARATION OF TAR ACIDS AND THIGPHENDLS Martin B. Neuworth, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignmto T'ittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company, Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 23, 1953, Serial No. 387,973

3 Claims. (Cl. 260-627) This invention relates to the purification of tar acids, and more particularly, to the separation of thiophenols from tar acids.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application, S. N. 215,214, filed March 13, 1951, now abandoned, and of my copending application, S. N. 276,991, filed March 17, 1952, now U. S. Patent 2,734,925 issued February 14, 1956, all assigned to the same assignee.

The principal sources of tar acids are coke-oven tar and petroleum distillates produced by the cracking of oil. The conventional method of recovering tar acids from either source is extraction of the tar acids with aqueous caustic solution to produce water soluble tar acid salts. The latter are separated from the source material by decantation and reconverted to the acids by reaction with mineral acids.

The extraction of tar acids by means of aqueous caustic solution is accompanied by the extraction of any thiophenols that may be present, since the latter are even stronger acids than the phenols themselves. The amount of thiophenols present in the original source material varies widely, being sometimes as small as one-half percent by weight of the phenols and ranging as high as twenty-five percent and above. Their presence in the extracted tar acids is undesirable for many industrial applications.

Many processes have been proposed for the removal of thiophenols from the caustic extracted tar acids. Most of those that have had commercial success are based upon oxidation of the thiophenols in an aqueous medium to disulfides. The latter are relatively insoluble in the aqueous medium and may therefore be separatedfrom the soluble tar acids. Nevertheless the thiophenol content is generally of the order of one percent which is still undesirably high for certain resin uses of the tar acids.

In accordance with my invention, a process is provided for separating thiophenols from tar acids. The separation effected is substantially complete. Tar acids having no detectable odor of thiophenols are obtained. Briefly the process comprises the following steps: (1) dissolving the mixture of tar acids and thiophenols in a suitable solvent (the process is ineliective unless a solvent is employed) (2) passing the resulting solution through a bed of granular, strongly basic anion exchange resin; (3) regulating the flow rate of the solution so that the liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) is less than 3 reciprocal hours; (4) recovering the efiluent solution from which substantially all the thiophenols have been removed by the resin; and (5) regenerating the resin, if the process is continuous, when it fails to absorb all the thiophenols. The tar acids, free of thiophenols, may be readily recovered from the elfluent solution.

For a better understanding of my invention, its objects and advantages, reference should be had to the following description and to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an apparatus for carrying out the preferred embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is a graph of the relationship between weight percent of thiophenols adsorbed on the resin and the liquid hourly space velocity of the feedstock over the resin; and

Figure 3 is a graph of the relationshipbetween weight percent of thiophenols adsorbed on the resin and the concentration of thiophenols in the feedstock.

Referring specifically to Figure 1 of the drawings, a system is shown therein for continuously removing thiophenols from tar acids. The feedstock consists of a tar acid solution containing tar acids in admixture with a minor proportion of thiophenols. It is generally obtained by caustic extraction of tar acid oil fractions, and is accordingly substantially free of neutral oil and tar bases. The feedstock may, however, be obtained in other ways. For example, .it may be obtained by solvent extraction of tar acid oil as described in the copending application S. N. 184,474, filed September 12, 1950, by E. Gorin and the present applicant now Patent No. 2,666,796. Regardless of the source, the feedstock contains tar acids contaminated by thiophenols.

The tar acid feedstock is dissolved in a solvent, preferably an organic polar solvent, for example, methanol, ethanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, etc. It is preferred that the solvent be aqueous to the extent that the solubility of the tar acids in the organic solvent is not alfected. The precise amount of the water that may be thus tolerated varies with the composition and concentration of the tar acids, but may be readily and simply determined by solubility tests.

The feedstock solution is fed to one of the resin towers 10 and 12 through a main conduit 14 and one of the inlet conduits 16 and 18. The towers 10 and 12 consist of vertical vessels adapted to confine a bed of granular anion exchange resin which derives its exchange capacity essentially from strongly basic groups. A typical example of such a resin and one which I prefer to employ is a resin which derives its exchange capacity principally from organic quaternary ammonium groups. The feedstock solution is passed downwardly through the bed of resin and discharged at the bottom through one of the outlet conduits 20 and 22 into a conduit 24. Initially the anion exchange resin adsorbs tar acids as well as the thiophenols so that theliquid discharged at the bottom of the resin chamber is substantially pure solvent; However, the resin quickly reaches the point where it is saturated with the tar acids. Thereafter, the thiophenols in the feed solution displace the tar acids from the resin with the result that the discharged solution contains tar acids free of thiophenols. Depending upon the concentration of acids in the feed solution and the amount of granular resin in the treating towers, a period of time will elapse before the resin becomes saturated with the thiophenols to the point where the efiiuent contains thiophenols. Before this point is reached the feed solution is diverted from one of the towers 10 and 12 to the other to permit continuous resin treatment of the feedstock.

The effluent solution from the towers 10 and 12 may be sent directly to a solvent stripper for recovery of the low boiling tar acids. In the solvent-free condition, the recovered tar acids are substantially free of the thio-v phenols, as well as any lower aliphatic carboxylic acids that may have been present in the feedstock. In the absence of these contaminants, the tar acids possess only the odor characteristic of them. For some purposes, as in resin manufacture, it may be desirable to employ the efiluent solution directly, thus dispensing with solvent stripping.

I have found that, depending upon the solvent employed, a small amount, barely more than a trace, of the be recycled for further use.

anion exchange resin may be carried into the efiluent solution. In addition. there may have been tar bases present in'tl e original feedstock solution as a result of incomplete removal in the preliminary purification steps. Both the anion exchange resin and any tar bases may be removed in the following manner; V

The efiluent solution conducted through conduit 24 and one of two inlet conduits 52 and 54 into one of the resin towers 46 and 48. The resintowers. are vertical vessels adapted to confine a granular cation exchange resin which derives it exchange capacity preferably from acid groups such as the sulfonic or carboxyhc groups. The solution is passed downwardly through the bed of resin whereby the bases from the anion exchange resin are adsorbed as well as the tar bases present in,

the. tar acids. The resulting solution is discharged as efiluent through one ofthe two outlet conduits 6 and 58 into a manifold 69 from which thesolution is con: ducted through a conduit 62 to a solvent stripping tower 64 of the conventional type. Inv this tower, the solvent is removed. by distillation through a conduit 65'Wh116 the. pure tar acids andwater are discharged at the 'bottom through a conduit 68. The solvent, of course, may 7 The. acids and water are separated by decantation in a decanter 70. 7

Regeneration of the anion exchange resin in towers 1t) and 12 is preferably accomplished in the following manner. A dilute aqueoussolution of an alkali hydroxide, e. g., 5l0 percent NaOI-I is conducted fronr a tank 42. through conduit 44 to one of the inlet conduits 32 and '34 and thence into the particular resin tower containing resin to be regenerated. The alkali selectively displaces the aliphatic carboxylic acids and any thiophenols adsorbed upon the resin. Any adsorbed tar acids, and there is always a minor fraction left on the resin,

are substantially unaffected by the dilute alkali.

conduit 49. By this procedure, the loss of tar acids is reduced to nearly zero. The resin is then ready for No removal of thiophenols was efiected when the cresylic acids were passed over IRA llO in the absence of solvent.

Example 2 V A synthetic solution of 15% by weight of phenol in 70% methanol was prepared which also contained 0.5% by weight of thiocresol based on phenol. passed over ERA 410 resin at a LHSV of 2. The effluent- -contained less than 0.002% by weight of thiocresol based r the flow rate may be varied ,over. a fairly wide range of The efiluent alkali solution is discharged from the towers through one of the outlet conduits 36 'and'38 lIltO a main the above procedure shouldbe modified by first passing a strong acidsuch as sulfuric. or hydrochloric, in an organic solvent, preferably aqueous methanol, over the resm. The. acid solution is conducted 'frorn a container 26 through conduits 28' and 44 to one of the inlet pipes 32 and 34 and thence into one of the treating towers 1t) Example 1 A feedstock consisting of a commercial sample of cresylic acids boiling'range l91225 0.) containing 1.27%byweight of thiophenolswas subjected to the above described anion exchange resin treatment. The feedstock was first dissolved in aqueous methanol (70'parts by volume of CHaOH and 30 parts by volume of H20) to make a 15% solution of the feedstock in the aqueous methanol. The resin employed was a quaternary ammonium anion resin in the hydroxyl form, sold under the tradedesignation of Amberlite IRA 410 by Rohm and Haas. The liquid hourly space velocity of'the solution over the resinwas 1. The gefliuent. solution contained less than. 0.01% by weight, of thiophenols.

' groups.

be. present in the tar acids are also removed; Thus, it is possible by sequential treatment with a strongly basic solution should-be'adjusted to about 4.8;

values without affecting seriously the adsorption of the contaminant. In the present process, the flow rate must be regulated so as to maintain a liquid hourly'spacc' velocity of the feedstock that is less than 3. Thi is shown graphically in Figure 2 of the drawings, for the separation of thiocresol from phenol. The influentwas composed of a 15% (by weight) solution of phenol in 70% aqueous methanol containing 0.5% thiocresol (based on phenol charge). As the liquid hourly'space velocity increases, the weight percent of thiocresol adsorbed drops rapidly, infect precipitously. For practical reasons it is desirable tooperate at a liquid hourly space velocity of less than three. Preferably the-liquid hourly space velocity should be 2 or under. 7

The concentration of the thiophenols in' the tar acids also aifects, but not critically, the adsorption of the thio-' phenols. The smaller the concentration the moreeifective the resin becomes in'adsorbing the thiophenols. This,

phenomenon is shown graphically in Figure 3 a exhibited specifically by a mixture of phenol and'varying concentrations ofthiocresoh The infiuents' were composed of a 15 (by weight) solution of phenol in 70% methanol containing thiocresol in three diiferent concen trations, 0.25, 0.59 and 1.00% by weight of phenol charged, Because of this behavior, the presentprocess is uniquely suitable for removing the last trace of thio phenols, in contrast to other processes where the removal becomes more diflicult with decreasingconcentration.

When an organic polar solvent i employed as' a solvent for the tar acid feedstock, some of the ion e."- change base-appears in the resin treated solution; This base. maybe readily removed by passing the solution through a cation exchange resin, preferably one which de= rives its exchange capacity essentially from sulfonic At the same time any tar bases that may still anion exchange resin and a cation exchange resin to recover tar acids free'of thiophenols and tar bases.

in someinstances, the thiophenols in the contaminated tar acids may have been oxidized to the corresponding. disulfides, due to oxidation by air. In view of the neutral character of these disulfides, they are not removed by the anion exchange treatment described above. Pretreatment I of the tar acids with a reducing agent reconverts the disulfides to thiophenols. For example, the reduction can be carried. out by passing an acidic solution of thc'tar acids and disulfides through a 'zinic rcductor. The plior'th'e In tests using Zinc amalgam and pure zinc, respectively, in the reductor 108% conversion f the disulfides to thiophenols was obtained. Very poor conversion was obtained when either iron or aluminum was used in the reductor'instead of zinc. The pretreated solution of tar acids and'reconverted thiophenols is passed promptly and preferably with air excluded to the ion treating zone, toavoid'formation of disulfides byoxidation. V

According to 'the' provisions of i the "patent statutes; I

Thi was have explained the principle, preferred construction, and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. The process of separating thiophenols from phenols which comprises passing a solution of said thiophenols and phenols in an aqueous organic solvent selected from the class consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetone and methyl ethyl ketone at a liquid hourly space velocity of less than three reciprocal hours in intimate contact with a strongly basic anion exchange resin for a period longer than is required for the resin to become substantially completely saturated with the acidic constituents of the said solution but not longer than is required for the resin to become completely saturated with said thiophenols, recovering the efiiuent solution containing phenols substantially free of thiophenols, thereafter passing an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide in intimate contact with said resin to restore its capacity for the present separation treatment, removing an efliuent stream containing said sodium hydroxide and thiophenols, and repeating the process cyclically.

2. The process of separating thiophenols from phenols which comprises passing a solution of said thiophenols and phenols in an aqueous organic solvent selected from the class consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetone and methyl ethyl ketone at a liquid hourly space velocity of less than three reciprocal hours in intimate contact with a strongly basic anion exchange resin for a period longer than is required for the resin to become substantially completely saturated with the acidic constituents of the said solution but not longer than is required for the resin to become completely saturated with said thiophenols, recovering the efliuent solution containing phenols substantially free of thiophenols, thereafter passing an aqueous methanolic solution of mineral acid selected from the class consisting of sulfuric and hydrochloric acid in intimate contact with said mineral acid and recovering the effiuent solution containing thiophenols, thereafter passing an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide in intimate contact with said resin to restore its capacity for the present separation treatment and removing an effluent stream containing said mineral acid and said sodium hydroxide, and repeating the process cyclically.

3. The method according to claim 1 in which the strongly basic anion exchange resin derives its exchange capacity essentially from quaternary ammonium groups.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Luten et al Dec. 26, 1939 Thomas et a1. Oct. 15, 1940 Gilbert et al. May 2, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES 30 (July 1948), 3 pgs.

Kum'n et al.: Ion Exchange Resins, pgs. 66-67 (2 pgs.) publ. by John Wiley & Sons, New York (1950).

Kunin et al.: Ion Exchange Resins, 1950, pgs. 88 to 90. 

1. THE PROCESS OF SEPARATING THIOPHENOLS FROM PHENOLS WHICH COMPRISES PASSING A SOLUTION OF SAID THIOPHENOLS AND PHENOLS IN AN AQUEOUS ORGANIC SOLVENT SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF METHANOL, ETHANOL, ACETONE AND METHYL ETHYL KETONE AT A LIQUID HOURLY SPACE VELOCITY OF LESS THAN THREE RECIPROCAL HOURS IN INTIMATE CONTACT WITH A STRONGLY BASIC ANION EXCHANGE RESIN FRO A PERIOD LONGER THAN IS REQUIRED FOR THE RESIN TO BECOME SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY SATURATED WITH THE ACIDIC CONSTITUENTS OF THE SAID SOLUTION BUT NOT LONGER THAN IS REQUIRED FOR THE RESIN TO BECOME COMPLETELY SATURATED WITH SAID THIOPHENOLS, RECOVERING THE EFFLUENT SOLUTION CONTAINING PHENOLS SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF THIOPHENOLS, THEREAFTER PASSING AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF SODIUM HYDROXIDE IN INTIMATE CONTACT WITH SAID RESIN TO RESTORE ITS CAPACITY FOR THE PRESENT SEPARATION TREATMENT, REMOVING AN EFFLUENT STREAM CONTAINING SAID SODIUM HYDROXIDE AND THIOPHENOLS, AND REPEATING THE PROCESS CYCLICALLY. 